Monster Goes Back to Basics with First Smart HDMI Cable

HDMI cables are pretty common these days. You can get them on the (relative) cheap, and they’ll help give you picture quality that far surpasses anything we could have imagined only years ago. But hey, maybe that’s not good enough. Maybe you need an expensive HDMI cable that provides a little extra bump (maybe) to make sure that picture quality is maximized. Well, now you can buy the Monster Smart HDMI cable.

The cables are engineered to meet the Imaging Science Foundation’s requirements for high-speed smart HDMI cables. The smart part comes from a light-up indicator on the cable that notifies you if the media you’re transmitting is in standard definition, high definition, or 4K resolution. That should help simplify configuration, while the V-Grip on the head of the cable helps to ensure that the cable won’t fall out of the port, and that undue stress won’t be put on the individual pins.

The Monster Smart HDMI cables come in three transfer speeds – 21 Gbps, 17.8 Gbps, and 14.3 Gbps. The price varies depending on transfer speed and the length of the cable, and goes from $60 to an almost-indefensible $350 for the 75′ 21 Gbps cable.